Apple Valley Council opts not to revoke Bright Futures' business license

Wednesday

Jun 14, 2017 at 8:18 AMJun 14, 2017 at 4:55 PM

Matthew Cabe Staff Writer @DP_MatthewCabe

APPLE VALLEY — In a move that went against staff’s initial recommendation, the Town Council opted not to revoke Bright Futures Academy’s (BFA) business license on Tuesday.

Rather, the Council voted 4-0 — Councilman Larry Cusack was not present — to delay a decision on revocation pending the creation of a plan that further remedies calls for service from the school to local law enforcement.

The plan also must show steps the school has taken to “provide a safe and secure environment” for students by addressing security, a previously faulty alarm system, fencing, transportation and the separation of autistic students from those with emotional disturbance disabilities.

Additionally, the plan, which will be presented to the Council in December, must be signed off by school districts that contract with BFA, the San Bernardino County Office of Education and the Desert/Mountain Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA).

Acceptance of the plan is contingent on the California Department of Education’s (CDE) pending decision on the school’s certification, which CDE suspended amid an investigation of BFA’s Apple Valley campus in late April.

Mayor Scott Nassif said the school "appears to be moving in the right direction" after recent incidents led to a spike in calls for deputies to the campus.

"I think they have made some commitments trying to correct the issue," Nassif said before the vote. "There aren't a lot of resources out there (for special needs students), but if they're providing a service, they need to provide it in a way that doesn't impact negatively the whole community, as well."

As a nonpublic nonsectarian school (NPS), BFA is privately operated and publicly funded. It serves nearly 250 students at three campuses in Riverside, Apple Valley and Twentynine Palms. Of that population, 53 percent have autism while 47 percent have emotional disturbance disabilities, according to school documents.

In the two-month lead up to Tuesday’s appeal hearing, the separation of students was a frequent topic of concern addressed by the school, parents and SELPA CEO Janae Holtz.

Holtz previously told the Daily Press combining students with disparate needs and disabilities is common among nonpublic schools, adding that such a separation would be “almost impossible” in the High Desert “where our resources are pretty limited.”

But BFA President Betti Colucci offered a potential solution during the appeal hearing when she announced the school’s unfinished purchase of a 5,000-square-foot church in Adelanto the school plans to remodel and open by Sept. 15.

In a statement released after the hearing, Colucci said relocating students with emotional disturbance disabilities to the forthcoming Adelanto campus, while keeping autistic students in Apple Valley, will “reduce, if not eliminate, calls to the San Bernardino Sheriff's (Department).”

“We’re gratified that the Apple Valley Town Council took this under consideration tonight and it was part of the decision to give us another chance,” Colucci said.

In March, Apple Valley Station Capt. Frank Bell presented a report to the Council in closed session that detailed 132 calls for service from the school between December 2015 and March 2017.

The calls included “a mini riot,” sexual assaults, battery, AWOL students, and students jumping from rooftops, as well as false alarms and calls for medical aid. Bell previously told the Daily Press the school demonstrated a lack of control over its students, adding the calls were a “drain” on his station’s resources.

Thirty criminal reports were filed and eight arrests made as a result of the calls, BFA documents show.

Bell then requested the Council not renew BFA’s business license once it came up for renewal; however, Town Manager Frank Robinson sent a letter to the school on April 6 announcing the town’s intent to revoke BFA’s business license within 15 days. The school appealed, thus setting up Tuesday’s hearing.

In the interim, seven students identified as the cause behind “the majority of the serious calls” were removed from campus, according to a previous Daily Press report.

Colucci informed the Council that BFA administrators were “thinking more with our heart than who we can serve and not serve” in taking on the seven students.

“We took in students that definitely need either residential care or a higher level of care than what a nonpublic school can provide,” Colucci said. “We need to have better oversight of the intake process.”

In addition, the staff member responsible for most of the calls to the Sheriff’s Department was terminated in May. Staff was then retrained on emergency procedures, admissions standards were tightened and BFA hired two security guards at an annual cost of $147,000.

Tuesday’s lengthy public hearing included emotional testimony from concerned parents, staff and members of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, but the Council’s decision primarily hinged on the aforementioned remedies instituted by the school in recent weeks, which have significantly decreased the calls for service, according to Bell.

Since June 1, the only call — made Tuesday — came from a parent who said their student had been assaulted. Bell later described it as a potential case of bullying and said deputies would respond to the Apple Valley campus Wednesday to identify the assaulting student.

As such, despite previously urging the Council to revoke BFA’s business license, Bell told the Daily Press he was happy with the Council’s decision.

“I think it’s showing some good cooperation between the town and the school," Bell said. "I think the school has shown that they recognize — it was certainly clear in the statements — that the staff (and) administration recognize the need for some improvements. And they’ve taken steps to start that ... I hope it continues the route it’s going and that Bright Futures can stay.”

Prior to the December presentation, BFA administrators will provide a status report to the Town Council during its Aug. 8 meeting, two days before the new school year begins.

Matthew Cabe can be reached at MCabe@VVDailyPress.com or at 760-951-6254. Follow him on Twitter @DP_MatthewCabe.